Let’s face it, when approaching uniform design for an organisation, none of us want a solution that leave us looking like any other company, least of all our competitors. Uniforms, like other elements of a business, should be unique, offering your staff and your customers something different, something fresh.
A bespoke solution the ideal scenario – allowing you to put an individual stamp on your uniform. However, for medium-scale businesses, where wearers will total between 200 and 1000 staff, bespoke may not be an option, either for financial or administrative reasons.
Panic not, Tailored Image has a solution which will allow you to create a bespoke look without breaking the bank, or your back. Here are the steps involved in procuring uniforms to achieve an individual look without all the stress…
Consultation
At Tailored Image, we like to get involved in the process right from the beginning. By liaising with us from an early stage, we’ll advice on how best to go about deciding on your organisation’s uniform. With over 25 years’ experience in the industry, we will guide you as to how to select the correct items for your wardrobe based on your individual circumstances. No two companies will have the same needs and expectations, so we’ll never shoehorn you into a solution that’s not right for you.
Personalisation
Personalisation is important for every company. It’s important to achieve a unique selling proposition for your customers and as such, your aim should be to make your staff look different to others in your industry too.
Bespoke uniform solutions, however, can be costly and time consuming, especially where staff numbers are large. In some circumstances, budget restrictions may preclude you from opting for a fully bespoke solution. In others, it may be that you simply require uniforms in a much shorter time-frame.
In either case, a compromise is to customise stock items – branding tops and jackets, trousers and skirts/dresses with your logo or a pop of colour. Choose items not necessarily renowned to be paired together to achieve a look personal to your organisation. To make your uniform unique, why not let us design ties, cravats and/or scarves to achieve your desired look. These items can easily be turned around quickly and can help achieve a unique look, all whilst protecting the purse strings.
Streamlined Ordering Process
Whilst relying on our expertise in guiding you to a wardrobe can help alleviate the stress of uniform procurement, often this can be only the beginning of the administrative chaos for an organisation. Dealing with sizing requirements and ordering items for a large number of people can be a headache for any HR, procurement or marketing department.
With Tailored Image’s award-winning online ordering portal, the ordering process could not be more straightforward. Individuals can place their own orders online, similar to how they would for any online fashion retailer, and have their uniforms sent directly to a home address or agreed collection point in their organisation, such as a local bank branch or ambulance depot. No bulk orders required, no administrative hassle – Tailored Image can take all the stress away!
Inventory Management
Not only does this process alleviate administrative workloads, it also prevents the need for large storage spaces in your organisation for the safe storage of garments.
All uniform items are stored at Tailored Image HQ until ordered and each item is dispatched from there directly to the agreed address.
Manage Compliance
Uniform compliance can be an issue in many organisations, particularly where multiple suppliers are in use. Without correct systems in place, wearers can be inclined to order cheap replacements or substitute from their own wardrobe when their items are no longer wearable.
Ordering from one supplier helps ensures staff are more compliant with their uniform. We will only supply garments that have been pre-approved. Setting up a uniform allowance system on the Tailored Image online catalogue couldn’t be simpler and giving employees a reasonable garment allowance cuts out the potential for non-compliant items slipping into the wardrobe. Our tiered system means an allowance can be set for each department, with managers having access to their own orders as well as those of their departments if desired.
Simplified Returns and Exchange Policies
This is a big one. There is nothing worse than feeling you have ticked off ‘order uniforms for every member of staff’ off your list, only to be flooded with requests for returns and exchanges. The good news is that these transactions are as simple to perform via our online portal than ordering uniforms is in the first instance. Wearers can simply log in to their online portal, confirm the need for an exchange or return and we will process this quickly and without the need for any involvement or admin time on a customer’s part. Simple!
Reports Galore!
The joy of a sophisticated online portal means we can report on pretty much every aspect of a uniform order. This includes uniform distribution at an individual, department and organisation level during any given time period.
In this way, you can enjoy complete visibility over how many uniforms have been delivered during a given period, how many garments are still available to employees within their allowance etc.
Recycling Policy
As a Carbon Neutral company, recycling of uniforms is a priority for us and we will always encourage our customers to help us secure a life for uniforms beyond your own use for them.
There are so many ways we can help achieve this. If employees leave and uniform items are still in good condition, we can take them and have them laundered, carry out small repairs if necessary and keep them as spares for your wardrobe. For older uniforms that are no longer in use – including those with old logos included etc – these can be donated to charity where appropriate or recycled if not.
Still find the uniform procurement process daunting? Why not Contact Us today to start your conversation – you’ll be glad you did.
